by Cecilia Odey
Patriarch Kirill, the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a strong supporter of President Vladimir Putin, has called for a ceasefire in the conflict in Ukraine to mark Christmas.
This is according to the Orthodox calendar on Thursday.
“I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia, appeal to all parties involved in the internal conflict with a call to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from 12:00 on Jan. 6, to 24:00 on Jan. 7.
”So that the faithful can attend services on Christmas Eve and on the day of the Nativity of Christ,” he said in a statement.
The appeal was the first by Kirill for a halt to hostilities since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
The patriarch has in the past backed the invasion as a campaign against evil, pledging absolution to Russian soldiers and saying that if they fell in the conflict their sins would be washed away.
He has also been seen in Defence Ministry meetings in Moscow sitting alongside the general staff.
Ukraine has sought to curb the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, withdrawing rights to the world famous Kiev Monastery of the Caves.
Caves where the Orthodox Church of Ukraine broke away from Moscow in 2018, would celebrate Christmas this year.
In its daily assessment of the war in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that Russia appeared to have taken a decision to disperse its aircraft.
That the aircraft would be dispersed based at the Engels air base following attacks apparently by Ukrainian forces.
“Operating from dispersal locations will add additional maintenance stress and will further deplete the limited flying hours available on these aging aircraft,’’ it said. (dpa/NAN)
